1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for creating, accessing and distributing information. More particularly, the present invention relates to a template-driven, distributed architecture for allowing individuals and groups to produce, distribute, and access information, including information alerts, over a multiplicity of communication pathways to a multiplicity of end user communication devices.
2. Related Art
In the first half of the twentieth century, the primary mechanisms for information distributors to distribute information to intended recipients were printed media, such as newspapers, and radio. In the second half of the twentieth century, television became the primary medium for distributing and accessing information. In the last decade of the twentieth century, a global computer network, commonly referred to as the Internet, became a widely used medium for distributing and accessing information. In the twenty-first century, wireless devices, such as mobile telephones and PDAs, have allowed individuals to access and distribute information via the Internet without requiring a fixed network connection. During all of this time, the fixed telephone network still remains the dominant mode by which individuals communicate information with other individuals.
Due to the increased mobility of today's society, individuals desire to access information from diverse sources anywhere and at any time. Such access is not possible using conventional information distribution media, such as radio and television, since programs are chosen by the broadcasters and only broadcast at times of day that are also selected by the broadcasters. In order to meet individuals' needs for ubiquitous information access, multi-modal information access systems have been developed. For example, the above-referenced parent application describes an end-user definable multi-modal information access system allows individuals to define unique per-user media portals in a multi-user system. Individuals are presented with a series of templates via a web interface that allow the individuals to input sources of information, keywords for searching the sources, and spoken keywords for accessing search results via a personal communications device, such as a mobile telephone. The end-user-definable, multi-modal information access system accesses the specified sources, retrieves the requested information, and delivers information to the individuals via their defined media portals. Thus, the system described in the parent application solves the problem of allowing individuals and groups of individuals to set up customized access to information anywhere at any time.
In addition to the need for ubiquitous information access, there also exists a need for ubiquitous information sharing and distribution. Information producers, such as news agencies, government agencies, companies, etc., often need to distribute information rapidly to many individuals. Conventional broadcast media, such as radio, television, or the Internet, may not be suitable for this purpose because there is no guarantee that the intended information recipients will be reached. Targeted communications mechanisms, such as the wireless and wireline telecommunications networks, like broadcast media, are also limited by the inability to guarantee that the intended recipients will receive information and the ability to acknowledge receipt of same.
One potential solution to the information distribution problem is to develop a customized system by which individuals in a particular organization are tracked, e.g., using a computerized scheduling system, wireless station tracking, and indigenous GPS, and the information is delivered to the individuals based on location information provided via the scheduling system. While such a system may be suitable for one organization, the system would require redesign for each organization in which it is implemented and there would be no mechanism for sharing information between organizations.
Accordingly, there exists a long-felt need for methods and systems for distributing and accessing information that avoid the difficulties associated with conventional communications media.